Britain argues over assisted dying: What to know about the emotive debate

London, United Kingdom – Britain is debating the issue of assisted dying after a bill to legalise it in England and Wales was formally introduced in parliament last week – the first attempt to change the law in a decade.

If it were enacted, assisted dying would legally give terminally ill, mentally competent adults with six months or less to live the right to choose to end their lives with medical help.

Since the 1961 Suicide Act, it has been illegal in England and Wales to encourage or assist suicide, and those found guilty face up to 14 years in prison.

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who is behind the bill introduced on October 16, said in a statement that it was “important” to get the legislation right with “the necessary protections and safeguards in place” so those with disabilities or mental illnesses do not feel pressured into taking the decision – which opponents of the bill argue could happen.

The debate over the polarising issue has moved religious figures and bodies.

“Legalising assisted suicide would disproportionately impact many millions of vulnerable people who might perceive themselves as a burden on those around them and the health service,” said Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury.

The British Islamic Medical Association said: “Alongside religious objection, many of us will have objections based on professional ethical code of conduct. We also see how this can be dangerous for vulnerable individuals and marginalised communities who already struggle to access healthcare in a system that is not able to respond to complex healthcare needs efficiently.”

Here’s what we know about the bill:

What is assisted dying?

Assisted dying is when terminally ill people receive lethal drugs from a medical practitioner to end their lives.

It is not to be confused with euthanasia, which is a similar process of ending a life by receiving lethal drugs from a doctor, but in this case, the person does not need to be terminally ill to choose to die.

What’s the bill about?

While many details of the bill have not yet been finalised, it’s expected to be similar to an assisted dying bill introduced in the House of Lords in July. That bill has since been withdrawn to make way for the new bill.

In the former bill, those who are terminally ill with only six months or less to live would be able to access medical help to end their lives after the decision is signed off on by two doctors and a High Court judge.

The last vote on legalising assisted dying in Britain was in 2015, but it was overwhelmingly rejected by British lawmakers: 330 voted against to 118 for.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who supported a 2015 assisted dying bill, said lawmakers should have a “free vote” and not be compelled to cast their ballots along party lines.

“There are grounds for changing the law,” he has said.

A debate and the first vote on the bill are expected to take place on November 29.

A small demonstration by people advocating assisted dying is held outside the Houses of Parliament in London on October 16, 2024 [Alberto Pezzali/AP]

What do campaigners for the bill say?

The arguments for assisted dying include self-determination, the alleviation of pain and suffering, and peace of mind.

Hundreds of Britons have spent thousands of pounds travelling to Switzerland to facilities like Dignitas, an organisation providing assisted dying.

According to Dignity in Dying, which carried out a poll, 84 percent of Britons support the legalisation of assisted dying.

Across political party lines, the highest support was recorded among Green voters with 79 percent backing a change in legislation. This was followed closely by Conservative voters with 78 percent support, Labour voters at 77 percent support and Liberal Democrats at 77 percent.

A spokesperson for Dignity in Dying told Al Jazeera that the new bill would bring “hope” to those who have called for a “compassionate choice at the end of life”.

“Under the current system, there are no upfront checks or balances to prevent a terminally ill Briton being coerced into travelling to Dignitas or taking their own life at home. We urgently need greater scrutiny, accountability and protection. That is what this bill will bring,” the spokesperson said.

Who opposes assisted dying and why?

Those against assisted dying have warned that marginalised groups, including disabled people and low-income households, will be disproportionately affected and put at risk.

Some religious groups are against the bill, arguing that life is sacred and ending it prematurely is morally wrong.

Others said improving palliative care should be the focus instead.

Disabled People Against Cuts have called on MPs to vote against the Assisted Dying Bill after they said it would put “disabled people under pressure to prematurely end their lives”.

“Initial good intentions to provide choice at the end of life can lead to disabled people without terminal illnesses being pushed to an early death because the support to live with dignity is not available,” it said.

The group pointed out the lack of state funding for hospices and palliative care, which provide support for terminally ill people.

Alistair Thompson, a spokesperson for Care not Killing, said the group against assisted dying has for years pushed for the palliative care system to be fixed.

“We know one in four people who would benefit from it don’t currently receive it,” he told Al Jazeera.

“​​But the reality is, it is incredibly expensive to fix the palliative care system. A huge amount of the funding from the palliative care system, which goes to the hospice movement, is raised by members of the public. It’s not centrally funded. So to fix the palliative care system means giving more money to the hospice movement, … and that’s going to be a multibillion-pound question,” Thompson explained.

Because Britain has an ageing population with complex needs, a legal route to assisted dying would lead to “more and more people feeling pressured into ending their lives early”, he said.

“The safeguards will be eroded and will simply be expanded.”

Where is assisted dying legal?

In Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and some states in the United States.

For those opposing the bill, Canada has become an example of why the Assisted Dying Bill in England and Wales should not be passed.

Assisted dying was legalised in Canada in 2016. The law was then broadened in 2021 to allow people with incurable but not terminal conditions, including disabilities, to seek a way to die.

But according to a recent investigation by The Associated Press, medical workers are “grappling with requests from people whose pain might be alleviated by money, adequate housing or social connections”.

Figures from Canada’s most populous province suggest a “significant number of people euthanised when they are in unmanageable pain but not about to die live in Ontario’s poorest areas”, The Associated Press revealed.

Thompson urged the British government to “look very, very carefully at [Canada] before going down this very dangerous route”.

Daniel Gover, senior lecturer in British politics at Queen Mary University of London, wrote about what could happen next for The Conversation.

There are many steps ahead that are likely to take months, if not longer, he said.

“Despite these procedural hurdles, the assisted dying bill has a reasonably good chance of passing into law,” he wrote. “In the end, much will depend on whether MPs are willing to back this change, and how determined they are to do so.”